Combined hand and shopping bag



C. PLAPLER Dec. 3, 1946.

SHOPPING BAG COMBINED HAND AND INVENTOR. C (1/4 PZAPZ/FR Filed Feb. 17," 1944 Patented Dec. 3, 1946 Celia Plapler, New York, N. Y. Application February 17, 1944, Serial No. 522,697

. 2 Claims.

The present invention is directed to bags, an particularly, of the type used by women for the storage of various articles. The invention is espe cially directed to a structure which combines the functions of the ordinary hand bag and shopping bag, and, in addition, provides storage space for holding various articles.

In the prior art, combined hand and. shopping bags were known. Such structures were rather complicated and expensive to manufacture and bulky to carry. Also, when used as a hand bag, the appearance was not graceful or attractive. In many cases, the capacity of the shopping bag was rather small. I

The present invention is intended and adapted to overcome the difficulties and disadvantages inherent in prior structures and to provide a combined hand and shopping bag which is simple in construction and requires a minimum of material with very little labor in its fabrication.

It is also among the objects of the present invention to provide a structure which may be.

converted from a hand bag to a. shopping bag, and vice versa, by a very simple manipulation and in which the hand bag is graceful and attractive in appearance.

It is further among the objects of the present invention to provide a combined hand and shopping bag wherein the articles which areusually carried in a hand bag may be readily accessible, even though the bag is used as a shopping bag and contains many miscellaneous articles.

It is still further among the objects of the present invention to provide a combined hand and shopping bag which may be used for carrying various articles, such as knitting, without changing the shape of the bag, and which has the advantage that when the outside flap of the bag is opened or dropped, the knitting articles are before the individual for use without the necessity of searching for the same within the bag.

In practicing the present invention, I provide a bag structure the body of which is made up of two substantially rectangular pieces of fabric sewn together along the sides and bottom to form a bag. At the upper open end thereof there is provided a pair of handles for convenience in carrying. The upper corners of the bag are folded inwardly, reducing the length of the upper edge. The lower edge of the bag is shirred or pleated to an extent so that the length of the bottom is bag when it is to b used for knitting purposes.

In the accompanying drawing, constituting a part hereof, and in which like reference characters indicate likeparts: H

Fig. 1 .is a side elevational view of a combined hand and shopping bag made in accordance with the present invention, showing the sanie'whe'n; used as'ahand bag; 1 a I 5 Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view thereof taken along the line2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. ,3 is a front elevational view similarto Fig. 1, but showing the bag in partly opened position to be used as a shopping bag; and

, Fig.4 is a side elevational view of the :bag as shown in Fig. 1. Y

The bag is formed of two rectangular pieces of fabric I which are sewed together alongthe longi-' tudinal edges 2 and 3 thereof, the top edges} being left open to allow access to the bag. A lining I' may be provided within at least the upper portion of the bag structure. The bottom edge 5 is formed with pleats 6 and the pieces of fabric sewn together along said bottom edge forming an inwardly curved portion I. I 1

Binding or tape 8 is stitched to the upper'edg'ei of fabric I and in some cases, stiffening mem bers maybe introduced therein. A similar binding tape 9, with or without stiffening members, is sewn at the lower edge 5. Snap fasteners: ID are secured in the upper edge 4 and co -acting members I I are suitably placed in the. lower edge;

5. The upper corners I2 and I3 are folded in-...

wardly to lie flat against fabric I, as shown in Fig. 3. The flaps I2 and I3 are provided respectively with snap fasteners I4 and I5, adapted to coact with complementary fastening members I6 and I! placed along the respective edges 2 and 3 of fabric I.

When the bag is to be used for shopping purposes, the co-acting fasteners III-II are opened, allowing the lower half of the bag to assume the position of Fig. 3. The flaps I2 and I3 are opened to take the positions shown by the broken lines of Fig. 3. The stiffening members in binding 8 allows a considerable weight of articles to be placed in the shopping bag without distorting the structure or causing sagging of the upper edge of the bag. -When in the closed position and used as a hand bag, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a space I8 is provided within the fold of the bag for the reception of such articles as-wool for knitting, or partially finished knitted articles.

Handles I9 and 20 are secured to the upper edges 4 of the two pieces of fabric I, and such handles are firmly secured to the upper edge of the bag to enable it to carry the desired load.

In the upper portion of the bag, within the lining thereof, there is sewed a substantially rectangular piece of fabric 2| forming a pocket 22 on one side of the hand bag. Similarly, a piece of fabric is sewed to the other side of the hand bag to form a pocket 23. Usually, an additional pocket 24' having a flap 25 or other covering means is provided within the hand bag.

By reason of this structure; most of the articles usually carried in a hand bag may be carried within the pockets 22, 23 and 24, and they are readily accessible at all times. is opened to provide a shopping bag, these articles remain in the pockets at'theupper part pletely filled with articles, the pockets being at When the ba 4 From the above, it will be noted that many variations in the details are possible within the spirit of the invention without departing therefrom.

the upper end thereof may be easily reached for the removal or insertion of articles.

Although I have described the invention setting forth a single specific embodiment thereof, the invention is not limited to' the details ofconstruct ion "as shown and" described herein. It is, of course, a simple matter tochange many of-the details bythe substitution of equivalent elements, or embellishments, and other variations. For instance, the shirl'ed portion 6 may be made of side, b0x or invertedpleats or tucks. In place of the snap fasteners shown herein, other fastenmg ,devices, such as'buttons, hooks and eyes, zippers, or other types, may. be used. The lining may [be .entirely, omitted or may be omitted in. certain'portions, and the bag may be half lined either at the upper or hand bag side or only. on. one. side of the hand bag portion. The pockets may be free from lining material. The stiffening which may be used at the upper or lower edges, or both, may be of any suitable material, such as cardboard, whalebone, wood, corset stays or metal. The handles may be-made of any suitable form, size or shape and of any suitable material. They maybe attached to the vbag either inside of fabric l or outside, or within the binding, and they may be sewn, riveted' or stapled.

The materials used may be ordinary fabrics, 1eather,"or felt, and may be of any suitable matera'il, such as linen, cotton, silk, or the like, with or without ornamentation or embellishment. The bag may even be madeof straw or other fiber, either in whole or in part.

What I claim is:

l. A combined hand and shopping bag'comprising a pair of substantially rectangular pieces of fabric sewn together along three of the sides thereof to form a bag, the fourth side bein the top of said-bag and being, open, saiditop when fully open being wider than the bottom, a handle secured to said top, the upper corners of said bag including part of the upper edge and sides bein foldable-inwardly, the lines of said folds when thereof and even though the bag maybe com- 15 extended upwardly meeting at an acute angle, the bottom of said bag being shirred in fixed p0- sition'to reduce the' width thereof to approximate the width of said top with the corners folded in,

said bottom having a plurality of fasteners spaced across substantially theentire bottom and the lower portion ofthe sides thereof, said fasteners being adapted to be removably attached tolthe said top and to the inclined edges of'said folds, said structure providing a, shopping bagwhen fully opened, a hand bag when folded,and a space within said fold for holding articles.

2. A combined hand and shoppin'g'bag'fc om prising a pair of substantially rectangular pieces of fabric sewn together along three of the sides thereof to form a bag, the fourth sidebeingth'e top of said bag and being open, said top when" fully open being wider than the bottom, a handle secured to said top, the upper corners of said bag" including part of the upper edge and sides being" foldableinwardly, the lines of said folds when extended upwardly meeting at an acute angle, the

Width of said top when in folded conditionbeing substantially the same as the width of the bottom, pockets inside of said bag at the upper portion thereof for the reception of small-articles tion of the sides thereof, said fasteners being adapted to be removably attached to the said top and to the inclined edges of said folds, said structure providing a shopping bag when fully opened,' a hand bag when folded, and a space within said fold for holding articles.

CELIA PLAPLER. 

